June 30, 2009

Transition Tuesday Week 7

Transition For Dummies

14 Steps Or Less To Booted Success

We’re now seven weeks into the transition and it seems like
a good time to pause and review the high points of moving from steel shoes to Easyboots.
In this short amount of time, our four horses are all barefoot, our boarder’s
horse is now barefoot and many of our friends and neighbors are barefoot or are
just about to make the move. My horses’ feet look healthier for it – I like the
way the hoof is growing, the way angles are changing and the way they move.

We went for a gratifying 25-mile training ride again on
Saturday up in the mountains near Prescott.
Having the Easyboot Gloves has changed our training regime considerably and our
horses are much fitter for it. I hardly notice the rocks anymore! Below is a
short video of Redford and me riding up some of the switchbacks near Groom Creek, AZ. This was one of the few moments we were actually walking. The guy behind us is friend
Bill Bennett on Hay Dude, riding in Easyboot Gloves and Easyboot
Epics for the first time.

I have been watching barefoot riders for several years;
always thinking I would never be one of them; always thinking the transition
would require more of me than I was willing to offer. The points listed below
are based on my limited experience and may help make the prospect your
transition more palatable.

1. Commit To It

There really is no time like the
present: horses adapt very quickly to boots from shoes – you could pull the
shoes one day and go to a ride almost immediately if you have the right
equipment.

Far gets lunged on Day 1
barefoot without any signs of soreness. I like the way he is moving.

2. Research A Barefoot Trimmer

There is almost certainly a
barefoot trimmer working in your area. Talk to some of your friends about their
experiences with the trimmer and make an appointment. A barefoot trimmer is
different than a pasture trimmer and a different than a farrier. I strongly
suggest you use someone who is trained specifically for barefoot.

3. Measure The Feet

I wanted to make sure I did a good
job of measuring the horse’s feet once the shoes were pulled. Our trimmer was
kind enough to measure them for us so we could compare notes. He even had a couple
of boots for us to try on to see how they fit. Follow the directions on
measurements here:
it is not as mysterious as you think it is going to be!

Rocky got measured for
boots the same day his shoes were pulled.

4. Get A Fit Kit

There is a virtually foolproof
method to get the right sized boots for your horse – it is called the Fit
Kit. For less than $10, you can enjoy the security of having a selection of
boot shells to try on each foot. If the cut-out at the front of the boot is not
expanded slightly while the boot is on, the boot is probably too big and you
should try a smaller size. In my limited experience, we tend to choose a bigger
boot than we should. The point here is to get a boot that will fit like a glove
(no pun intended) rather than to get something that will make us feel good
about how large our horse’s feet are.

Look for the cut-out in
the shell to expand a little. I like to see a little more expansion than in
this photo, but the shape of Rocky’s hoof is quite straight-sided.

5. If The Shoe Fits…

Once the shell is more or less on,
walk the horse for a few steps with the lead rope, then feel along the toe of
the boot to see if the toe of the hoof is all the way down into the shell. If
the toe won’t go down all the way, try the next size up.

6. Place Your Order

Place your order with your local
distributor.I really like the Easyboot
Gloves for training and for one-day 50 mile rides. They are quick and easy
to put on and they leave the hoof wall completely unscathed. I have not had any
rubbing problems whatsoever with gaitors.

Redford in action: I use
lower leg protection on this horse because he is a little base narrow and
because they provide additional protection from the different varieties of
cactus we ride next to here in the desert.

7. Get Some Accessories

I rode a tough 25-mile training
ride in the mountains on Saturday and I did not lose a boot even once. I like
the additional security offered by the Power
Straps for the hind boots along with athletic
tape around the top of the hoof before the boot goes on. When wrapping the
tape around the hoof, start at one side of the heel bulb and go around the hoof
three times, finishing again at the other side of the heel bulb. It will be a
very snug fit and the tape gets tacky with moisture and provides additional
tooth for the toothless boot to hold.

Redford, just before we
headed out on our training ride. I don’t use any accessories on the front feet
– I really don’t think they are necessary. I’m using Power Straps and athletic
tape on the hinds for added boot security.

8. Put The Boots On

The easiest way I have found to put
on the boots is to roll the gaiter down completely, exposing the shell as much
as possible. Holding the leg between your knees, use both hands to pull the
boot over the two sides of the hoof. Once over the two sides, firmly and
confidently rotate the boot a little left and right so the hoof slips into the
boot. Walk the horse around a couple of circles to make sure the foot is
completely in the boot before securing the gaitor.

The gaitor is pulled down completely and the boot is secured
over both sides of the hoof. In this case, the hind foot is wrapped in below
the coronet band in athletic tape for additional grip.

9. Keep An Eye On The Hooves

Lift your horse’s feet up every day
if you are close enough. The hoof wall will need an occasional rasp here and
there. If you are not comfortable doing this yourself for the first few months,
ask your barefoot trimmer to come back out. You will be surprised at how
quickly the foot grows – and a mustang
roll will help early breakover and prevent the hoof wall from chipping too
much.

Redford at just over a week without shoes.

10. Keep The Sole Hard

Keep the sole as hard as possible.
We live in the arid Sonoran desert with nothing but decomposed granite and a sand
wash in the horses’ paddock. We nevertheless apply a sole hardening liquid to
help keep the horses’ feet hard. Use the product of your choice – we use Jim
Ricken’s Foot Formula # 1.

11. Experiment A Little

I really like the Easyboot
Glue-Ons for multi-day rides or multi-day camping trips. It may mean
investing in some additional tools and supplies, but my
experience with them has been nothing but positive. Talk about stress-free
riding!

Clean, low profile and uncomplicated. I really like these
Glue-Ons.

12. Keep An Eye On The Boots

We rode with our good friend Bill
Bennett up in Prescott on Saturday. It was his first ride ever with boots. He used Gloves on the hind
feet and Easyboot
Epics on the fronts. It was very entertaining to see him looking down at
his horse’s feet every time they hit a rock or took a stumble. It will take a
few hours in the saddle for you to adapt to the new sound of the boots on the
ground– and to build your confidence in them. I managed to ride 25 miles on
Saturday without straining my neck from the saddle to see if I still had all
the boots on.

Bill on the hill: Bill gets busted again for checking his
boots!

13. Check The Boots Occasionally For Fit

I have found that the Gloves will
stretch out just a little as the miles add up. When you stop for water or get
off to hike down a hill, do a quick visual check of the gaitors to see they are
still fitting snugly. I found I was not wrapping the gaitors tight enough in
the first few rides – mostly due to fear of rubbing the pastern. I have found
the boot stays on better if the gaitor is good and tight – and I have yet to
experience a rubbing problem from them.

Redford after 25 miles this weekend: no rubbing.

14. Keep Your Horse Moving

We’ve been lunging horses every
couple of days if they are not working regularly. It increases the blood flow
to the foot; stimulates growth and gets the horse used to the feeling of
barefoot. We made the mistake of carving out too much dead sole from one of our
horses last month and made him sore from it. He was tentative on the hard
ground for a couple of weeks, but the lunging really seemed to help. From some
of the reading
we’ve been doing, we’ve seen that the nerve endings in the feet begin to get
sensation back again after removing the steel shoes.

Rocky
is booted in this video because we were trying out a different sized boot. Most
of the lunging we do is barefoot.

Comments

Some horses will rub with the gaiters, some not. One of my horses can rub to blood in five miles, the other happily does LDs with no problems. For the rubbing horse, I've been using pastern wraps under the gaiters - something that won't be necessary when the new gaiter design comes out.